Geography Commons^™

Putting Policy In Its Place: Policy Enactment And Engagement Through A Multiscalar Policy-Shed Framework, Barbara L. Maclennan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research is to examine the spatial components integral to policy formation, implementation, and evaluation. The research uses solid waste as a case study to explore a multiscalar GIS policy-shed framework. To this end, the goal of this dissertation is to examine the spatial nature of public policy. The research applies spatial concepts and multiscalar methodological applications embedded within GIS and geovisualization to explore the complex spaces surrounding public policy implementation and evaluation.

Advancing The Spatial Turn In History Through Deep Mapping: Ghost Maps, Neogeography, And Frederick Jackson Turner, Jessica L. Mathai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The permeation of the spatial turn into the humanities, and in particular history, has both imbued scholarship and opened up new areas for research. This dissertation examines the conceptual and theoretical implications of advancing the spatial turn in history and evaluating existing approaches such as Historical GIS and ghost mapping as a foundation for deep mapping. The resulting deep map developed in this study utilizes Neogeography and web technology in the form of JavaScript Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to develop a prototype that overcomes many of the limitations that occur when simultaneously integrating multiple sources of data and software functionality, …

Women, Water, And Well-Being: Gendered Experiences Of Household Water Contamination In Parkersburg, West Virginia, Emily Brooke Tingler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

DuPont Washington Works chemical plant knowingly pumped hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic C8 waste into local waterways, water tables, and landfills for over 40 years, contaminating the drinking water for more than 100,000 residents in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia. Drawing on feminist political ecology and the political ecology of water with literature on perceptions of risk in contaminated communities, environmental reproductive justice, modern water, and hydrosocial waterscapes, I examine, through a qualitative case study, the lived experiences of women who have an intimate understanding of C8 water contamination from the DuPont Washington Works chemical plant. Specifically, I …

Sexual And Place-Based Identity: A Life Course Analysis Of Lgbtq+ Undergraduate Understandings Of Climate Change In Appalachia, Brandon Anthony Rothrock

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

LGBTQ+ persons face heightened vulnerability to climate change-induced disasters due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Yet, there are limited studies that examine how LGBTQ+ students, particularly in a higher-education setting, understand climate change in relation to their sexuality. With a majority of studies on LGBTQ+ persons and climate change focusing on LGBTQ+ experience during and after disaster, there is a gap in understanding LGBTQ+ perceptions of climate change in the day-to-day. Particularly in Appalachia, a region characterized by a strong place-attachment to and a collective identity with the natural environment, studies of marginalized groups’ perceptions of …

Can Stable Isotopes From Tree Rings Improve Our Understanding Of Past Variability In The Southern Annular Mode?, Zachary Grzywacz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Few annually dated stable isotope records exist across Oceania. In mid- to high-latitude locations in South America, tree-ring stable isotopes provide information about past climate dynamics such as the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). The SAM drives latitudinal shifts in Southern Hemisphere westerly winds, influencing temperature and moisture delivery across the mid- to high-latitudes, including Tasmania. Combinations of paleoclimate proxies from across the Southern Ocean might provide insight into dynamic processes like the SAM that are difficult to measure with a single proxy. Measuring stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios from tree rings in Tasmania could provide complementary data to contribute …

Quantifying Carbon Sequestration For Riparian-Zone Restoration In Ecuador, Paula Carvalho De Castro

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Carbon sequestration supported by carbon pricing and carbon offset programs has the potential to mitigate the risks associated with environmental change. Riparian-zone restoration, beyond enriching degraded ecosystems, promotes carbon sequestration. With that premise, this study aims to estimate and compare how much carbon is captured and stored using six riparian-zone restoration scenarios for the Northwestern part of the Pichincha Province in Ecuador and the economic value of the respective carbon. The InVEST Carbon Storage and Carbon Sequestration Model which integrates land cover maps, carbon pools, and economic value of carbon in currency units was used to quantify the amount of …

Guest Editorial: Disaster, State And Science: Historical Narratives Of Extreme Weather In East Asia And The Pacific, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This curated special issue asks how history can be used as a lens into disaster and disaster management. It takes as its premise the idea that approaches from different disciplines - including the humanities and social sciences – can offer new perspectives on understanding disaster, managing disaster and disaster risk. The concept is not new, historically focussed studies have long provided meat for hazard investigations and modelling, especially those focused on geological or hydrological time-series analyses; multi-hazard interactions and identifying historical underliers for contemporary risk. It has become increasingly common, for example, to include historians in collaborative efforts to better …

Encoding A Categorical Independent Variable For Input To Terrset’S Multi-Layer Perceptron, Emily Evenden, Robert Gilmore Pontius

Geography

The profession debates how to encode a categorical variable for input to machine learning algorithms, such as neural networks. A conventional approach is to convert a categorical variable into a collection of binary variables, which causes a burdensome number of correlated variables. TerrSet’s Land Change Modeler proposes encoding a categorical variable onto the continuous closed interval from 0 to 1 based on each category’s Population Evidence Likelihood (PEL) for input to the Multi-Layer Perceptron, which is a type of neural network. We designed examples to test the wisdom of these encodings. The results show that encoding a categorical variable based …

Ensemble Encoder-Decoder Models For Predicting Land Transformation, Pariya Pourmohammadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In studying dynamic and complex processes which are influenced by a system of inter-connected driving variables, it is crucial to apply models that can learn the complexity of the interactions. Land transformation is one of such complex processes, prediction of which can help to mitigate severe climate situations and improve the resiliency of communities. In this study, a multi-spectral set of data cubes is used to capture various characteristics of a geographic region. Based on the data cube, a feature space is constructed using socio-economic attributes, terrain characteristics, and landscape traits of the study region. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional convolutional neural …

Assessment Of Empirical And Semi-Analytical Algorithms Using Modis-Aqua For Representing In-Situ Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (Cdom) In The Bering, Chukchi, And Western Beaufort Seas Of The Pacific Arctic Region, Melishia I. Santiago, Karen E. Frey

Geography

We analyzed a variety of satellite-based ocean color products derived using MODIS-Aqua to investigate the most accurate empirical and semi-analytical algorithms for representing in-situ chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) across a large latitudinal transect in the Bering, Chukchi, and western Beaufort Seas of the Pacific Arctic region. In particular, we compared the performance of empirical (CDOM index) and several semi-analytical algorithms (quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA), Carder, Garver-Siegel-Maritorena (GSM), and GSM-A) with field measurements of CDOM absorption (aCDOM) at 412 nanometers (nm) and 443 nm. These algorithms were compared with in-situ CDOM measurements collected on cruises during July 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, …

Natural Climate Solutions For Canada, C. Ronnie Drever, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Fardausi Akhter, Pascal H. Badiou, Gail L. Chmura, Scott J. Davidson, Raymond L. Desjardins, Andrew Dyk, Joseph E. Fargione, Max Fellows, Ben Filewod, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Susantha Jayasundara, William S. Keeton, Timm Kroeger, Tyler J. Lark, Edward Le, Sara M. Leavitt, Marie Eve Leclerc, Tony C. Lemprière, Juha Metsaranta, Brian Mcconkey, Eric Neilson, Guillaume Peterson St-Laurent, Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, Sebastien Rodrigue, Raju Y. Soolanayakanahally, Seth A. Spawn, Maria Strack, Carolyn Smyth, Naresh Thevathasan, Mihai Voicu, Christopher A. Williams

Geography

Alongside the steep reductions needed in fossil fuel emissions, natural climate solutions (NCS) represent readily deployable options that can contribute to Canada's goals for emission reductions. We estimate the mitigation potential of 24 NCS related to the protection, management, and restoration of natural systems that can also deliver numerous co-benefits, such as enhanced soil productivity, clean air and water, and biodiversity conservation. NCS can provide up to 78.2 (41.0 to 115.1) Tg CO2e/year (95% CI) of mitigation annually in 2030 and 394.4 (173.2 to 612.4) Tg CO2e cumulatively between 2021 and 2030, with 34% available at ≤CAD 50/Mg CO2e. Avoided …

Climate Impacts Of U.S. Forest Loss Span Net Warming To Net Cooling, Christopher A. Williams, Huan Gu, Tong Jiao

Geography

Storing carbon in forests is a leading land-based strategy to curb anthropogenic climate change, but its planetary cooling effect is opposed by warming from low albedo. Using detailed geospatial data from Earth-observing satellites and the national forest inventory, we quantify the net climate effect of losing forest across the conterminous United States. We find that forest loss in the intermountain and Rocky Mountain West causes net planetary cooling but losses east of the Mississippi River and in Pacific Coast states tend toward net warming. Actual U.S. forest conversions from 1986 to 2000 cause net cooling for a decade but then …

A Near-Real-Time Approach For Monitoring Forest Disturbance Using Landsat Time Series: Stochastic Continuous Change Detection, Su Ye, John Rogan, Zhe Zhu, J. Ronald Eastman

Geography

Forest disturbances greatly affect the ecological functioning of natural forests. Timely information regarding extent, timing and magnitude of forest disturbance events is crucial for effective disturbance management strategies. Yet, we still lack accurate, near-real-time and high-performance remote sensing tools for monitoring abrupt and subtle forest disturbances. This study presents a new approach called ‘Stochastic Continuous Change Detection (S-CCD)’ using a dense Landsat data time series. S-CCD improves upon the ‘COntinuous monitoring of Land Disturbance (COLD)’ approach by incorporating a mathematical tool called the ‘state space model’, which treats trends and seasonality as stochastic processes, allowing for modeling temporal dynamics of …

High-Intensity Monsoon Rainfall Variability And Its Attributes: A Case Study For Upper Ganges Catchment In The Indian Himalaya During 1901-2013, Alok Bhardwaj, Robert J. Wasson, Winston T. L. Chow, Alan D. Ziegler

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

High-intensity monsoon rainfall in the Indian Himalaya generates multiple environmental hazards. This study examines the variability in long-term trends (1901–2013) in the intensity and frequency of high-intensity monsoon rainfall events of varying depths (high, very high and extreme) in the Upper Ganges Catchment in the Indian Himalaya. Using trend analysis on the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall dataset, we find statistically significant positive trends in all categories of monsoon rainfall intensity and frequency over the 113-year period. The majority of the trends for both intensity and frequency are spatially located in the Higher Himalayan region encompassing upstream sections of the …

Overcoming Loneliness: First-Generation Slavic Immigrants' Experience With Loneliness In The Inland Northwest, Charles C. Crook

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The plight of loneliness has caused devastation to many social and cultural groups’ well-being. Scholars have analyzed and documented its adverse health such as suicide (Stravynski and Boyer 2001), Alzheimer’s disease (Wilson et al. 2007), depression (Erzen and Çikrikci 2018), immune system complications (Hawkley and Cacioppo 2003), and cardiovascular complications (Hawley and Cacioppo 2003). Some compare its health impacts to smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Health Resources and Services Administration 2019), while others emphasize how loneliness compels people to internet addiction (Ayas and Horzum 2013) and alcohol abuse (Åkerlind and Hörnquist 1992). Among the most susceptible populations to loneliness are …

Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka To South Arcata: A History Of Cultural Influences, Jerry Rohde

Trade & Scholarly Monographs

In 1850 the area east of Arcata Bay was a tapestry of wetlands and sloughs, fringed by conifer-clad hillsides. Canoe channels and trails connected a string of Wiyot villages that nearly encircled the bay.

Then white settlers arrived, establishing towns at Eureka and Union (Arcata). With them came profound changes in the landscape. Rock quarries. Log drives. “Reclaimed” ranchland. An airport. Four and a half railroads. In 170 years the area was transformed into a web of structures and infrastructures that connected what became the two largest cities in Humboldt County.

Recently a new period of change has begun, promising …

Secondary Risk Theory: Validation Of A Novel Model Of Protection Motivation, Christopher L. Cummings, Sonny Rosenthal, Wei Yi Kong

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Protection motivation theory states individuals conduct threat and coping appraisals when deciding how to respond to perceived risks. However, that model does not adequately explain today's risk culture, where engaging in recommended behaviors may create a separate set of real or perceived secondary risks. We argue for and then demonstrate the need for a new model accounting for a secondary threat appraisal, which we call secondary risk theory. In an online experiment, 1,246 participants indicated their intention to take a vaccine after reading about the likelihood and severity of side effects. We manipulated likelihood and severity in a 2 × …

Collaboration, Knowledge-Sharing And Natural Hazard Risk Management In The Greater Pinery Provincial Park Region, Madeline Mcfadden

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Canada, parks and other forms of protected areas are visited by tens of millions of people annually. By their very nature, parks and protected areas present various risks that must be mitigated. Risk management is an area of research that is receiving increased attention because in recent years, natural hazards (e.g. effects the environment) and disasters (e.g. effects the environment and humans) have exacted significant economic, social, health, cultural, and environmental impacts on persons and communities across Canada. Natural hazards, which pose significant risks to the natural environment and those individuals who inhabit or visit them, are expected to …

Park Agency Social Media Communication During The Covid-19 Crisis, Raluca Oprean

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all industries and organizations, including park agencies. There is a lack of research on how park agencies utilize Twitter during times of crisis, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. How park agencies communicate with the public and how they use their social media has not been extensively studied. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic is a novel management issue for these agencies, and there has been no empirical analysis in the ways in which information is being communicated to the public or how that information is being perceived.

This study aims to better understand park agency response …

Evaluating Employees’ Experiences In Implementing Covid-19 Safety Protocols In Ontario Parks, Jessica Kaatz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a wide range of public health challenges for park management and staff in Ontario. Green spaces have become a source of resilience during the spread of the virus, partly due to their proven positive impacts on social, mental and physical well-being. With the introduction of social distancing protocols, utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and standardizing constant sanitation efforts, park employees are more responsible than ever for the daily implementation of rules governing park safety and security. At the same time, increased visitor numbers and continually changing government protocols that varied between regional jurisdictions have …